Mind and Soul
by Sandgirl555
Summary: Pitch is rising, this time with a new ally who calls herself "Bloody Mary". Can the Guardians stop them in time? They might- but they will need the help of two mortals with amazing powers to do it. Contains OCs, may contain pairings in later chapters. Please rate and comment! :)
1. Ashanti and Lehava, BFFs

Lehava and Ashanti were best friends, ever since they met in 6th grade. They were almost done with 7th grade, but they knew their friendship would last forever. It was an odd sort of friendship. When they met for the first time, it felt like they had just picked up where they left off, even though neither had met before. It was like they were made for each other, like they were supposed to meet. It was funny that they had never met before middle school. They lived about ten minutes away from each other. So after becoming BFFS, they hung out almost every weekend. Maybe they were both best friends because they were so different than normal.

Ashanti was a quieter sort of girl. She was like an adult in a teenager's body, full of inspiration and philosophy. She didn't mind being on her own, reading or painting or ice skating, etc. She was skilled at many things, and very smart, and she used her skills wisely. She considered getting an A on a quiz a failure, which Lehava found hilarious.

Lehava was Ashanti's opposite in some ways. Though she never spoke a word in class (she was usually daydreaming about one thing or another) she was a constant chatterbox to her friends. She was more like an eight year old in a teenager's body, full up of all the guardians had to offer, dreams, wonder, fun, etc. She loved being on a team, and couldn't stand being alone. She also had many skills, though she tended not to see them or remember to use them.

But Lehava and Ashanti did share some things in common. They both loved humor and didn't care what age group something was meant for as long as they liked it (though Lehava still wouldn't admit she liked My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, that was just too much for her pride). And though their friendship was strange in many ways, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. That is, until one day.

It was during winter break that it started. Lehava was hanging out at Ashanti's house and they were just talking at the moment (like always). They were both obsessed with Rise of the Guardians (after Lehava discovered it) and both believed.

"Do you think I might be something special, Shanti? Like, I might have powers like the guardians or Percy Jackson?" Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Lehava is obsessed with the Percy Jackson series. Mostly Leo Valdez. She was also obsessed with the color green. And music. And magic. And… well you get the point.

"I don't know. It seems likely that you could turn out at be a guardian. After all, you do have something 'special inside' as North says," Ashanti answered in her oddly measured tone.

"But I mean like, magic, sort of special," Lehava said, not satisfied with the answer.

"Most people want to have superpowers, but once they have it, it's scary. Like, I can sorta read minds, but it scares me." Ashanti answered, still carefully not answering Lehava's question. She was betting on the fact that Lehava was easily distracted. She was right, as always.

"WHAT? HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME BEFORE? HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU READ MY MIND? THIS IS SO COOL!" Lehava shouted, bouncing up and down.

"Well," said Ashanti in an even voice, "I haven't really ever read YOUR mind-,"

"Good. Please don't read my mind," Lehava interrupted.

"Yeah, well anyways, but I can sorta go into people's minds and tell what they are feeling or how they feel about something. I'm not very good at it yet, but sometimes I can even read a thought."

"OHHHH MY GOSH! MY FRIEND HAS TELE- uhh… tele… help me out here."

"Telepathy."

"YEAH! I was about to say telekinesis but that didn't sound right. YOU HAVE TELEPATHY! Anyways, what's my power?" Lehava asked eagerly. She reaaaaally hoped she had a power. It was her lifelong dream.

Ashanti sighed. Even though Lehava was easily distracted, she never gave up on an idea THAT easy. It wasn't like Ashanti thought Lehava wasn't special. She HAD felt something special with Lehava, like they had powers colliding. Maybe she did have something. She expected Lehava's power was over earth, dirt. It just seemed to fit. She delved deep into Lehava's mind, blocking out all thoughts but one. _What is Lehava's gift? What is it? _She asked. She heard nothing. Maybe Lehava _didn't _have a power, maybe she was just a normal girl. But then she heard something. Something ancient inside of herself, whispering to her. _"Fire… hearth… she sees it within others… she sees it within her self. Ask her. Asssssk her…" _

"Hmm that was interesting," said Ashanti, trying to cover her fear of the creepy voice, "I was expecting earth."

"Well what is it? WHAT IS IT?" practically screamed Lehava, bouncing again. She was not well known for her patience.

"Fire," Ashanti said, "Does that sound right to you?"

Lehava paused for a second.

"Yes," she said hesitantly, "Yes, I think it does."

All of a sudden she was pulled into flashbacks of her childhood, things she had not remembered for so long. She remembered the time she knocked over a candle on a tablecloth when she was seven. She had been so scared, she couldn't move. She had stared for about ten seconds as the flame touched the cloth. The only thing she could do was will it not to burn, don't burn… please don't… Her mother picked up the candle. The cloth didn't burn. There was no scorch mark.

Next, she remembered that when she was little, she used to talk with fire, see things in it. She would sit by the fireplace, staring, until a familiar bird would pop up. It wouldn't speak out loud, but it communicated to her using pictures like the sandman's, or sometimes with a deep voice like an ember, if an ember could speak. She had become better and better at talking to fire but then, her parents had bought a pellet stove (a sort of furnace, not really a fireplace). After that, she couldn't talk with the fire. It was real fire, but not quite the same. It was too contained, too controlled, to be real fire.

And finally, she remembered some nightmares she had. In the first, there had been a blood red, evil goddess, telling Lehava to join her. She had showed Lehava that there were fires inside of everyone, soulfires. Lehava, for all of her life, could sense and influence the soulfires, kindle them. It was just the goddess that pointed it out. And unfortunately, over the next few days after the dream, Lehava had proof that that goddess was real.

The second dream also involved fire. Lehava couldn't control her powers, everything was burning, burning, until there was nothing left. _"See what you can do? Without training, thissssss could happen…" _the goddess told her.

All the memories… made sense now.

She did have something special.

And she wasn't scared.

"Whoa," Lehava breathed. "I DO have powers… I… I… AHHHHHH! OMYGOSH! AHHHHHH!" She started jumping up and down, flapping her hands and screaming OH MY GOSH at the top of her lungs. Ashanti just watched in amusement. It made her feel good to make Lehava feel this happy- and that was saying something, Lehava was always happy. When it was finally time for Lehava to leave, Ashanti thought. Why did they have these powers? How did they get them? And, most importantly, Where we meant for something bigger?

Those questions would be answered soon, sooner than she thought. Because a shadow was rising, by the name of Pitch. And this time, he had the help of a goddess by the name of Bloody Mary.


	2. Dreaming of Evil

"AHHH!" Ashanti gasped, and woke up sweating. She'd had another horrible nightmare. She'd dreamed of Lehava turning evil, every night. Lehava would laugh manically, raising some sort of flaming broadsword above her head, ready to strike, to kill. She wouldn't do that… would she? No, she was Ashanti's friend. Nothing to worry about. Just a nightmare. Ashanti guessed Lehava would have had a similar dream, maybe of Ashanti herself turning evil. These nightmares had been happening for a few weeks. She couldn't explain why, but a recurring theme was a tall, dark man and a shorter woman, covered in red velvet and blood. They always were right next to Lehava when she was about to kill her. Tonight had been even worse though. The dreams had been getting so realistic, and tonight's would have driven Ashanti insane, if not for at the very end, light had blasted through the darkness and fire and five, oddly comforting figures stood, enshrouded by the horrors. Immediately the creepy man and startling woman fled, taking Lehava with them.

Lehava muttered in her sleep. In her dream, a woman clad in red beckoned to her. "You don't have to be alone Lehava… I know you always have felt different… an unneeded link. You have never felt like others truly understand you. But I do. We could work together, Lehava. We could…" Lehava was tempted. She HAD always felt nobody understood her. All those years in elementary school when nobody would be her friend, or speak to her… that red woman had always comforted her in her dreams. She did this all the way up till 6th grade, and then Ashanti came along, and became her friend. Ashanti! Oh boy would Ashanti be mad if she joined this… bloody person. She sat in indecision. If she joined the red lady, she might… Five beings rushed in at the last minute. Lehava woke up in cold sweat. She had been having dreams like this for a week straight. She needed to tell Ashanti. Now.

Ashanti flew through her day in a complete daze, wondering what had happened. Why was she having these awful dreams about Lehava? Was Lehava having the same types of dreams about her? She wished she could have seen Lehava sooner, but they couldn't get together for the past few weeks.

When they finally met, Ashanti told Lehava her dream. "It was awful! There was this gray man and this red lady and then there was YOU! And you were evil! I mean, in real life I know your not evil but, anyways. Are you having dreams like that about me?"

"I… uh… sorta. I mean, well… in my dreams, this lady dressed in red keeps telling me to join their side. Whoever's side that is. Also there's this dark creepy man. And then the five people… wait a second… that dark man was PITCH!" (Lehava, after all, was obsessed with rise of the guardians) "And that woman- HOLD. THE. PHONEBOOK. Since when did Pitch get a GIRLFRIEND?" She started cracking up. Lehava was famous for missing the point.

"Lehava, they may or may not be dating-"

"Pitch has got a GIRLFRIEND! Pitch has got a GIRLFRIEND!" Lehava started chanting.

"SHUSH! Do you hear that?" The sounds of furious squabbling arose from a nearby bush.

"Well, I don't care if you ARE a Guardian, you have to apologize."

"Jeez, you are a grumpy Kanga-"

"I AM NOT A KANGAROO!"

Lehava looked excitedly at Ashanti. She rushed over and poked the bush. All the talking stopped. "OHHHHH MY GOSH THE GUARDIANS!" she sang out.

"Lehava, stop poking the bush. We are all well aware that Bunnymund and Jack and perhaps others have been watching us like creepy stalkers. Well, I wash my hands of this. Lehava, go ahead. GUARDIANS, I SIC LEHAVA UPON YOU!"

"CREEPY STALKERS WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOURSELVES!" screamed Lehava. "I'M GOING TO- wait a sec, these are the guardians. CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH PRETTY PLEASE?" Ashanti face-palmed. So much for that idea. On the bright side, Lehava didn't seem like that force of evil in her dreams. She was too innocent (besides pulling pranks, which she was constantly doing) to be. Right?

Ashanti walked over to where Lehava and the two guardians were standing, and coldly said, "Get out of my favorite rhododendron." Bunny stood up, and pulled a reluctant Jack along with him. Looking closer, Ashanti could see that Jack was in the midst of making a large snow fort, complete with –working cannons? Ashanti grabbed their ears and tugged them over to Lehava, threw a pen and some paper at them. "She asked for an autograph. Begin signing."

"Aww Ashanti. Don't force them!" said Lehava. She gave the guardians her best puppy dog eyes. "Of course I'm not saying you… ahem… SHOULDN'T, more like she shouldn't force you to do it and it's of your own free will and all that good stuf-"

"Oh Lehava. Shush." Ashanti tugged their ears again and demanded, "Why have you been spying on us?"

"Tsk tsk Shanti," said Lehava, looking completely calm for someone who is watching their childhood heroes dragged around by their ears. "Such hostility. Two words: Anger Management."

"They were stalking us. I can, and probably will bring them to court for this. You have not seen the last of Ashanti Bellarose Lajvati-"

"The man in the moon has chosen you two to-" Jack began.

"WHAT? OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! Wait, is this good or bad?" Lehava asked.

Bunny grouched, "Jack, you stole my thunder…"

"YOU CONTROL THUNDER? THIS DAY GETS BETTER AND BETT-"

"Shut UP Lehava and let him FINISH!" Ashanti screamed.

Bunny mouthed "Thank you" to Ashanti. Then, to the group he said, "The man in the moon has chosen both of you to assist us. This is a big honor. I wanted to do the whole shove-you-into-a-sack-and-then-through-a-portal gag, but Frosty the Snowman here wouldn't let me. That's why there's two of us here."

"Blah blah blah honor sack portal we GET IT Bunny. Now, can we see North?" Lehava asked, doing a complete fangirl.

Ashanti began talking a mile a minute, "What are the customs? Rules? What happens if we mess up? If we do well? Where are we going to live? Are we staying at our houses? And if not, HOW are we going to explain this to our parents? I can see it now, 'Hey, Mom, gonna go live with some complete strangers for a couple of-wait, I don't know how long. Oh, and yeah, might die. Love you too!'"

Lehava just looked at Ashanti. They were best friends, but opposite in many ways. Ashanti was worrying over where they would stay, and Lehava, well, she was the type of person who sees her chance and grabs it while she can. Despite the consequences. Lehava wasn't crazy, just obsessed with the guardians and a leeeeeettle too hyper.

"Well, you guys ready or what?" Lehava asked.

Bunny and Ashanti looked up from their deep conversation about where they were going to stay.

"Uh… yeah, I guess so." Bunny said. "Hop in! Oh no no WAIT Lehava you were supposed to use the SACK to-! Never mind. Everyone else hop in!"

The portal closed up just as a flash of red appeared.

"We seemed to have missed them your Darkness. We will have to catch that Lehava soon before those dratted guardians get to her first. We already missed our first chance when she befriended Ashanti."

A chuckle was heard behind her. "Oh don't worry, Mary. Fire is an easily swayed element. All it takes is a little breeze, a slight nudge, to set it off. And when it does, it destroys everything in sight, leaving the ruin and despair you and I both desire behind it. Lehava can stay with the guardians all day. But even Sanderson cannot protect her at night. We'll see then how big a push I will need to give her. But I assure you there is no way she can hide forever."

With that, both Pitch and Bloody Mary melted back into the shadows.


End file.
